An analysis of arrest data in major California counties shows that African-Americans are far more likely to be booked for marijuana possession - even though pot use is lower among blacks than whites.
Those are the results of a study by the Drug Policy Alliance, an advocacy group seeking alternatives to the drug war.
In a Sacramento press conference today, which accompanied the California state NAACP's endorsement of the November initiative to legalize recreational marijuana use, the group revealed stark disparities in the racial breakdown in pot arrests.
In Sacramento and San Francisco Counties, black residents were arrested for marijuana possession four times as often as white residents. In Los Angeles County, the disparity was more than three to one, according to the analysis of California arrest data from 2004 through 2008.
"These racially-biased (arrests for) marijuana offenses are a statewide phenomenon...in nearly every county and every police department in this state," said Stephen Gutwillig, California director for the Drug Policy Alliance.
Gutwillig said marijuana possession arrests are the only California crime category in which arrests increased from 1990 to 2008. During that period, rape arrests were down by 67 percent, murder arrests were down by 63 percent and overall arrests were down 40 percent. But marijuana possession arrests went up by 127 percent, he said.
"That's got to tell you something about the efforts of law enforcement - where the resources are going, and where the energy is going," said Neil Franklin, a former police officer from Baltimore who is executive director of a pro-marijuana legalization group, Law Enforcement Against Prohibition.
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Detroit -- A man who uses medical marijuana to treat symptoms of a medical problem in a lawsuit filed Tuesday claims he was wrongfully fired from a Walmart store in Michigan after testing positive for the drug.
Joseph Casias was fired last year after five years on the job in Battle Creek despite being legally registered with the state to use the drug, according to the lawsuit against the world's largest retailer in state court.
Casias said he didn't use marijuana at work or come to work under the influence. Scott Michelman, a staff attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union, said the lawsuit aims to test the extent that Michigan's law protects employees.
"No patient should be forced to choose between adequate pain relief and gainful employment, and no employer should be allowed to intrude upon private medical choices made by employees in consultation with their doctors," Michelman said.
Michigan voters approved medical marijuana use in 2008. Federal law still prohibits the sale and cultivation of the drug.
Bentonville, Ark.-based Wal-Mart Stores Inc. said in a statement that it is an "unfortunate situation all around." It said it is sympathetic to Casias' condition but said it is an issue of customer and employee safety.
"The doctor prescribed treatment was not the relevant issue. The issue is about the ability of our associates to do their jobs safely," the company said. "As more states allow this treatment, employers are left without any guidelines except the federal standard."
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DENVER - Under one of the many laws that go into effect Thursday, medical marijuana entrepreneurs throughout the state must either open a store or apply for a municipal license. If they miss the deadline, they will have to wait at least a year.
The deadline is the first of many hurdles for medical pot businesses in a new law that takes effect Thursday. House Bill 1284 sets up a licensing and regulation system for Colorado's hundreds of medical marijuana dispensaries, which previously existed in a legal gray area.
In addition to Thursday's deadline to apply for a local license, dispensary owners have until Aug. 1 to apply to the Department of Revenue for a state license.
Pot businesses that miss either deadline will have to wait until July 1, 2011, to apply.
"We needed to draw the line at some point because we need to process 500 or 1,000 applications," said Mark Couch, spokesman for the Department of Revenue.
The first licenses under the new system in HB 1284 will be issued July 1, 2011. The bill puts strict requirements and fees of $7,500 to $18,000 on dispensaries.
Dispensaries will need both a state and local license, and HB 1284 allows cities and counties the power to make stricter rules or ban dispensaries altogether.
Rob Corry, a Denver lawyer specializing in medical marijuana, said his law practice was swamped with work from people trying to meet the deadline.
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